Chapter 157: Chapter 161 Another Connection
In the eyes of the “Rose Doll House” shopkeeper, the world’s greatest puppeteer was a human named Lucresia Abenomar, the daughter of the famed “Captain Duncan.”
As soon as the old lady let out these words, the entire shop fell silent for several seconds, followed by Captain Duncan’s earth-shattering coughing fit, “Cough cough, cough cough cough…”
“Are you all right, sir?” The shopkeeper was immediately frightened by Duncan’s reaction, just like any elf who has long dealt with short-lived races, her face instantly expressed concern that the human before her might drop dead on the spot, “Do you need a doctor?”
“Cough cough… I… cough, I’m fine,” Duncan finally managed to stop his coughing, but it still took him a moment to wave off the old lady—because at the same time, he also had to calm down the Cursed Doll who had been startled by his coughing aboard the Homeloss, “I just got choked on some saliva. What were you saying again? Lucresia…”
“Lucresia Abenomar, the lady of the Brilliant Starship, one of Captain Duncan’s children,” the shopkeeper said with a face that read “this is all recent news, why do you humans make such a big fuss over it,” “the world’s greatest puppeteer…”
Duncan, who had just managed to catch his breath, suddenly choked on his saliva and into his lungs again upon hearing the old lady’s words: “Pfft—”
At the same time, on the deck of the Homeloss, the doll Alice, who had just been frightened by Captain Duncan’s severe coughing, was startled again by his exclamation “Holy shit,” and the puppet lady, holding a large basket of vegetables and fruits, looked stupefied at the captain, who was acting strangely today, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Duncan took a breath, slowly calming his emotions. Having mastered dual-body control over time, he almost panicked again at this moment. To avoid acting too bizarrely back in the City-State, he had no choice but to wave at the doll before him, “You go on to the cabin for now, I have something to deal with.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Alice still looked at him suspiciously, her pale violet eyes reflecting Duncan’s face, “Do you want me to check your body, maybe give you a back tap or help you catch your breath…”
“Do you know how?”
“I don’t.”
“Off you go!”
“Oh.”
After finally sending away the naive doll, Duncan quickly refocused his attention on Plunder City-State. He lifted his eyes and looked seriously at the slightly plump elf old lady, “That famous Captain Duncan… the legend of the Homeloss…”
“Shh, don’t just blurt out that name!” the shopkeeper hastily interrupted Duncan’s words, “An ordinary person like you doesn’t know, but carelessly uttering the name of such a grand terror and curse could bring misfortune upon you! Be careful, or that ship might come to you in your dreams!”
“…You’re right,” Duncan choked for a moment and nodded with effort, holding back the odd feeling in his heart, “So, that captain… Not only has a daughter named Lucresia, but he also has a son, right?”
“Yes, from a hundred years ago, I’ve even met them both. The son is Tirian Abenomar, who later became some sort of general for the Frost Queen, but didn’t last long before a rebellion broke out in Frost, and he gathered a group to become pirates. The daughter is Lucresia Abenomar, the world’s most outstanding puppeteer…”
The old lady prattled on, then paused, and started to reflect, “But these are all events from many years ago, at least they are for humans… In Plunder, few people bring up their stories anymore, even in the elven city-states, people don’t dare to discuss matters related to that ship, but what’s the harm, really? The siblings aren’t insane like their father, they’re still capably fulfilling their roles as captains…”
“Hold on!” Duncan immediately widened his eyes, “You’re saying they’re still alive?!”
“Alive, indeed. It’s said they were cursed by the Subspace, granting them eternal life,” the old lady lamented, “They might live even longer than me…”
Duncan: “…”
“Are you really all right, sir?” the shopkeeper finally couldn’t help but ask again, “You’ve been looking pale since a while ago, you don’t like this topic? It’s normal, most humans don’t seem to enjoy hearing about this, they’re afraid even in broad daylight…”
“I dare to listen, I dare to listen,” Duncan said, immediately snapping to attention at the mention. He quickly composed his expression and posture, nearly staring fixatedly at the shop owner. “Could you tell me a bit more about the siblings? And you said just now… you’ve seen them both?”
“A century ago,” the old woman began with a reflective tone, “I had my shop on this street back then. The siblings came here to shop. Lucresia bought a one-third scale Magic Doll, and Tirian paid for it. They were still young then, and their father… he was still a normal human being. Oh, but I shouldn’t mention him. Mustn’t speak of him.
“And then another decade or so passed, and on my way to Rensa to exchange ideas with colleagues, I met Lucresia again, by herself. By then, she had become an outstanding Puppeteer and Mechanic Master… the automaton-driven Magic Dolls she created were even beyond what I could make…”
The shop owner rambled on, sharing tales that would be considered historical to most humans but were merely personal memories for her.
It seemed that no matter the race, the elderly enjoyed reminiscing and chattering away; as long as someone initiated the topic, there was never an end to such conversations.
Duncan’s turbulent thoughts had yet to settle, but his face had regained composure. He perked up his ears, absorbing every word the old woman said, capturing the astonishing intelligence without missing a single detail.
For the ordinary people of the City-State, the story of the century-old cursed captain and his cursed children was just a distant tale; but to an Elf who had lived here for several centuries, many so-called “secrets” were just part of her earlier experiences—she spoke a lot about Lucresia, and also mentioned Tirian and his “Sea Mist” a few times.
However, her knowledge about Tirian and the “Sea Mist” was clearly less than it was about Lucresia.
“Tirian Abnormal pledged loyalty to the Frost Queen, which was half a century ago, not too far from today. Some of the older humans have heard of it,” the shop owner commented casually, “but that’s all they’ve done—heard. The City-States around the Chill Sea were more closed off decades ago, and their interactions with Plunder were limited…”
Duncan’s heart thumped in his chest. Of course, he knew who the Frost Queen was; his family even had a life-sized Frost Queen doll that hopped around all day. But he had never imagined that the queen executed by rebels half a century ago would establish another connection with him—in the form of an “eldest son” whose existence he himself had only just learned of.
“The Frost rebellion, half a century ago…” he chose his words carefully, striving to appear as a casual customer fascinated by gossip, “I’ve read about it in history books, but they’re rather vague…”
“That affair was indeed vague,” the shop owner waved her hand dismissively, “It is said to be connected to ‘that ship,’ who would dare to record it clearly?”
“Did Tirian Abnormal become a pirate after the Frost rebellion, leading his crew?” Duncan asked again, “Is he still active around the Chill Sea?”
“He seemingly is,” the shop owner recalled, “Anyways, more than twenty years ago, a compatriot of mine who did business on the seas said so.”
“And… do Tirian and Lucresia still communicate?”
“How would I know that?” The shop owner waved her hand again. “I’m just an ordinary old woman with a shop here on the streets of Plunder. At most, I met them once in earlier years and happen to remember a bit more than what you humans do. How could I know everything?”
“Well… that makes sense.”
Duncan smacked his lips, realizing he might have shown a bit too much interest in the matter, and wisely refrained from asking further.
At that moment, however, the old woman opposite him seemed to suddenly remember something. She stood up from behind the counter, “Ah, right, speaking of Lucresia, I just remembered something. I’ve had it for quite a few years now, don’t know if you’d be interested?”
While speaking, the shop owner walked toward a short door in the corner near the stairs. Opening the door, she rummaged through a storage room for what seemed like ages before pulling out a box over half a meter long from the deepest part and placing it on the counter.
“This is…” Duncan looked at the item she brought out with curiosity.
“A doll,” the old woman revealed with a kind smile, carefully opening the lid, “Her name is Niru—remember what I just mentioned? Many years ago, Lucresia and her brother bought a doll here in my shop. That doll, in fact, was one of two sisters. She took the older sister, named ‘Luny.’ This one left here, her name is ‘Niru.’”